Navy chaplain admits sexual misconduct with teen

An assistant Navy chaplain will be sentenced in December after admitting to sexual misconduct involving a teenager.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

BENTON, Ill. — An assistant Navy chaplain will be sentenced in December after admitting to sexual misconduct involving a teenager.

Thirty-year-old Matthew Staszak pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court in Benton to sexual exploitation of a minor and traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. The former Marion man also pleaded guilty a charge of failing to appear in court.

Authorities say Staszak was stationed in North Carolina but had sexual relations with a southern Illinois teenager from February 2011 through May of last year. The exploitation charge accused him of filming his sexual intercourse with the victim.

Staszak has agreed to forfeit his vehicle and must register as a sex offender.

He has remained jailed without bond since his June arrest. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 6.